Lost Cause: Confidential
by Kokuja-Fafnir
Summary: Beneath the tundra and mountains of Planet Hokabe lies a secret. A secret that was best kept as it was. However, humanity is known for its curiosity and lust for power and with the discovery of a new source of power for the military weaponry of the Confederacy, a chain of events has been unleashed. A case that is now kept as a Confidential Record. Prequel to Lost Cause: Ascender.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. Hiro Mashima and only he owns it.**

**Nor do I own any names that are related to another game, anime or movie(s) and such.**

**I do own the idea of this story. Well, partly that is.**

**Credits for the original concept goes to: Tendencies' Wrath(AKA Kuroyagi)**

* * *

**Lost Cause.**

**Confidential Records 01: **_"How it started"_**.**

* * *

_Home World - Planet Earthland._

_Era Metropolis, Imperial District._

_Dragneel Household, 20:40._

_X575 AFC: 1st of February: 1 Year before the Civil War..._

"Uh, Dad? What's an Akrid?"

The pink-haired General blinked in surprise as he heard the unexpected question from his four-year old son, Rob Dragneel. Natsu glanced from his newspaper and looked at the scarlet-haired boy, not knowing what to do exactly. He laid down the piece of paper on his table before turning to his son and bent down to his level, his knees supporting his hands.

"Son? Where did you learn of that name?" The rosy-haired man asked with a slight undertone, his face an emotionless mask as he looked intently at his son. Rob merely shrugged, looking with his innocent onyx eyes, which he inherited from him, at his father, making Natsu sigh and scratch his head unknowingly; how come he knew about that name?

Suddenly the boy perked up and ran away from the living room as he darted towards his parent's room, making it look like he realized something important for this conversion, leaving the twenty-eight year old commander to his thoughts.

_"How does he now about that? I'm pretty sure I hid it somewhere nobody would look..." _The pinkette musings were cut short as Rob ran inside the room again while holding on to a piece of paper, grinning triumphantly as he approached his father. The boy presented the paper to the pinkette.

"I found this while I was in your and mommy's room!" The kid grinned in a cheerful way, seemingly oblivious to his father's complete surprise as the older man looked at the sheet; the paper showed the illustrations of a giant insect with two extremely long curved arms which were supporting his upper body, a long, scaly neck covered in spikes and a lower body supported by two shorter legs while the lower body was covered in yellow-orange crystalline hide, making it look like some kind of liquid was inside the beast.

_"Oh boy, Erza is going to kill me when she finds out Rob found these papers..." _Natsu panicked as he thought what the woman would do to him when she discovered this. It was a very sensitive topic to Erza, hence why she didn't liked it when it was brought up, making the rose-haired man frown now that he thought about; she still wasn't over it, even after four years, still. Then again, she did lost someone precious to her.

"Dad?"

The pinkette felt a hand tuck at his own, making the older man look down at his kid with nostalgic eyes and mumbling a small 'hm'.

"Is something wrong? Did I do something bad?" The scarlet-haired boy glanced timidly at his father all of a sudden, making the man look at him with amused eyes. While the kid could be a brat and annoying as hell, he was a good-hearted boy and when he noticed that his parents looked at him with silent eyes, he could mostly discern something was off or wrong, like this time.

Natsu shook his head while chuckling before grabbing the boy under his armpits and lifting him up, earning him a yelp of surprise, bringing the boy close to his face.

"No Rob, you did nothing bad. This is just a drawing of a thing daddy saw when he was away while your aunt Meredy watched over you. You are too young to understand what it is, so there is no real harm in you knowing."

The boy pouted at his father, not liking it whenever he was told he was too young for this or too young for that, making the older man chuckle again. He rubbed his nose with Rob's in a sign of fatherly affection as Rob let out a snicker. Natsu then glanced at the clock and his eyes widened at the time. It was already nine o'clock and Rob was still awake.

"Oh snap..."

The boy raised his eyebrow at Natsu curiously, wanting to know why his father started becoming wet a bit all of a sudden as he touched the pinkette's forehead to wipe off some droplets of sweat. He glanced at his hand and then back to Natsu.

"Dad, you're wet..."

The man paid no attention to his kid as he remembered the ominous words of his wife. She emphatically pointed out that the kid should be in bed at eight so Rob could have his proper night's rest and sufficient amount of sleep. She also said she would be around nine back. Which meant anytime soon, Erza could walk inside the house and see Rob still awake. Which meant in its own rightful way that he would be at his wife's mercy. Oh, and Erza doesn't like it when something doesn't go as she wants it.

Women and their demands.

The rose-haired man sighed once more, holding his son with one arm while rubbing the back of his head with his other. His only thought was saving his hide and put the kid in bed before the woman came home and would give him hell for his irresponsibility, as she would put it.

The duo left the living room and Natsu strolled to Rob's room, sliding the door open before closing it again and approaching the kid's bed and tucking him in. The rose-haired man sat on the edge of the bed and took out one of those books Rob liked, went through some pages and sighed tiredly as he scowled.

It was that time of the day again where he would read some out of those children's books and he accidentally grabbed Rob's favorite and his most hated; _'Mushima the Magnificent'_

_"I can't believe children these days actually like this crap. What's so special and mesmerizing about an old man and his blue cat traveling around the world and spreading this 'everlasting friendship'. To make it worse, this is written by Hades himself! What was that old man thinking!? _

The rosy-haired commander grumbled under his breath about how annoying this book was, but not loud enough that Rob could hear it. It would break his little heart if he learned his father considered this book crap.

Giving a side-glance to his son and smiling warmly at the kid, who was staring at him intently and waiting for him to start the 'adventure' like he wanted to call, the man then started to read the book out loud.

"There was once, in a faraway country, a man with great powers and wisdom accompanied by a pink dragon..."

* * *

_Dragneel Household, 21:32_

"Never am I going to read that book again... Never. Again."

Natsu just finished putting Rob to sleep as he carefully closed the door leading to the kid's room. The pinkette scowled in obvious annoyance. How many times did he told himself he wouldn't read that book again and do anything in his power to hide it so Rob could never find again? Many times he told himself that, but he also faltered many times when he saw that excited face of his four-year old brat. How could he do that when it brought Rob so much excitement?

_"Exactly. I can't." _

Standing in front of his window, the pinkette glanced outside and his eyes darted all across the Capital Metropolis of Earthland. His house, a penthouse worth more than five fortunes and given to him and his family by the government, was located on top of Era's tallest buildings: The famous Tower of Era, a structure reaching into the clouds with an impressive 2442 meters high. The pink-haired man enjoyed the sight, his eyes absorbed how dusk approached as the sun started to disappear under the horizon.

Natsu's eyes then gazed upon the multiple cars that were flying around the city, his orbs having a glint of nostalgia as he remembered the drawing his son showed him. He closed his eyes, completely trying to reminisce what he saw all those years ago.

And what he saw, he regretted.

Deeply.

The obscure image of a gigantic insect completely destroying everything in its wake came to his mind as it leveled buildings and crushed people under its pincer-like legs. Corpses were littered across the ground, rubble was scattered everywhere and destroyed mechs were all but burning or emitting small sparks of dis-functioning. The beast then glanced at him with his big green eyes, almost looking straight into Natsu' soul before letting out an earth-shattering roar, the air the breathed out as blue and cold as the chilling wind where it lived.

The rosy-haired father opened his eyes again, a glint of absolute terror obvious in his eyes before he quickly blinked it away. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and concentrated his thoughts as his gaze fell on the city in front of him again. He smiled humorlessly dryly to himself.

_"How is it possible that a four-year old child can find something that is considered confidential."_ Natsu shook his head, having a slight idea how it was possible. _"Guess I'm getting careless. That, or Rob really goes after Erza."_

Natsu looked at the clock and his eyebrows rose in surprise because of the time. He turned to his window and gazed outside again.

"Strange, it's already 'quarter to ten' and Erza still hasn't arrived yet. She's always punctual. I wonder..."

The man suddenly heard something connect with the door's lock and he glanced over his shoulder, waiting to see who would enter. He already knew who it would probably be, hence why didn't had to turn around completely, but still.

The door opened and a mob of scarlet entered the house, wearing a long black coat with fur around the collars and the coat reached above her knees with crimson-red trimmings along the zip and the a bright yellow sarcelly-cross with the inscriptions of '_Heart Kreuz' _horizontally sewn on the left breast, black low-heeled boots reaching to her knees with the bootlegs unfolded on the sides, showing the leathery inside of the boots. The woman's legs were covered in black tights which were neatly tucked inside her boots.

Erza turned around and carefully closed the door behind her before she caught the sight of Natsu standing in front of the window and looking past his shoulder at her. It was quite for a moment and it seemed like tension started to build up, but eventually Natsu was the first who started to break the silence.

"You're late. It's not like you to be this late." The man said as he noticed how Erza flinched under his tone. The scarlet-head looked at him sheepishly

"W-well..."

Erza was quite again and seemed like she was struggling in finding the right words if the nervous expression on her face could be trusted. Natsu raised his eyebrow in question and approached the woman carefully. He stood a mere meter in front of her and crossed his arms glancing down on the woman who was slightly shorter than him.

"Well...? Well what?"

This continued for a while, Natsu would stare down at his wife while the latter would sport a look of discomfort. It amused Natsu, seeing his stoic wife looking like that. She wasn't one for mistakes and if she made one, she would act as if she was a timid schoolgirl, something that Natsu found extremely amusing.

But what happened next wasn't something Natsu expected.

The scarlet-haired woman placed her hand over her heart and bowed slightly as she placed both her feet together and straightened her legs."I'm sorry to have disappointed you, sir! In the future, I won't be late and you have my word that I will correct my mistakes properly as is expected from a soldier like me! I'm more than willing to be punished for a my lack of responsibility!" The woman saluted, making Natsu sweatdrop heavily at his wife's antics.

That was a little too much.

The commander sighed tiredly as he ruffled his hair. This woman, who he was married to for five years and had a child with, was sometimes as formal with him as when he first wore his badge of office as a General. She acted like this when she didn't know how to handle the situation otherwise. He understood it went they were outside and on duty, but even in private?

Kind of frustrating.

The pinkette sighed for the last time before he reached out for the woman's hand that was placed over her heart. Natsu brought it to her side and started unzipping the woman's coat while he glanced at her with a slightly annoyed expression.

"You know I don't like formalities, especially when it's not needed. Are you doing this deliberately?"

The woman chuckled, her normal self present again she smiled affectionately at the man standing in front of her, who kept frowning in irritation.

"Well, I can't forget my training I had. With it came a lot of discipline. I think you're starting to get soft, Natsu.

When he was done unzipping her coat, Natsu took it off of her and hang it inside the closet while muttering something under his breath that Erza didn't quite catch. She brushed it off quickly and headed towards the kitchen.

"Why were you late anyway?" Natsu asked, making the woman stop in her tracks and glance his direction with a scowl of frustration.

"Lucy... While I love the woman for who she is and she's probably my best friend, she has the tendencies to drag me to places and shops that I don't bother visiting," The woman shook her head in exasperation as she remembered to how many shops they went. "Going to more than twenty key stores is one of them..." Erza growled, and it elicited a laugh from Natsu who now understood why she was late. The red-head growled to the pinkette, making him instantly reduce his laughing into small snickers. With a sigh, the woman made it no mind anymore since it was now over and entered the kitchen.

"You want some coffee too, Natsu?" She shouted while she was preparing some for herself as she looked at the assortment of coffee types the coffee maker had. She ultimately went with latte and tapped the screen that flashed with the name.

"Nah," Natsu shouted back as he sat on the couch while his arms were draped around the furniture. "I'm not really into coffee, give me a glass of water, instead." The pinkette nodded to himself.

The pinkette turned on his TV, browsing through the channels as he tapped away at it, his face changing sometimes from mild interest to boredom to complete boredom and on. He eventually stopped at the Planetary Channel of Earthland and what he heard the TV spout amused the General.

_-Looking for a way to end the boredom? Want to prove your worth or just show your idiotic brainy friends how much you changed since the Academy? Join the Confederate Army today! Go to your nearest recruitment post now!-_

"I can't believe they still use that line. What got into Gerard, I wonder sometimes."

The rosy-haired man turned off the TV and thought for a moment, facing the table while he supported his arms on his thighs. The drawing of the Akrid Rob showed was still somewhere inside his back pocket and it made him both smile and bothered when he remembered those memories. For several reasons, this memory could be seen as his, and Erza's, biggest turning point of their lives.

"You look tense, Natsu. Is something wrong?" Looking to his side, the pinkette saw Erza approach him with a coffee mug in one hand and a glass of water in the other. She sat down next to him and placed the beverages on the table without taking her eyes off of the man sitting next to her.

Natsu opened his mouth to say something, but the words seemed to failed him and so he closed it again, expressing a thoughtful face. The pinkette sighed for the umpteenth time today and scratched his chin. This was starting to annoy him, he deduced. As a General, people looked up to his encouraging speeches and praised him how he could lift spirits, but with his friends and family, he couldn't find the proper words to explain something as trivial and plain as how to use the coffee maker for example.

Natsu ruffled his hair annoyance again, groaning as why he couldn't tell what was one his mind. The scarlet-head next to him watched him with curious eyes, crossing her arms and glanced intensely.

"Natsu, what is it? What are you making such a fuss about?"

The rosy-haired dropped his head on the woman's lap and sighed deeply before talking. "Rob found something... Something that was supposed to be a secret..."

Getting more curious, she glanced down at the man. "Oh? What did he found out?" The red-head simply asked. Erza's eyes suddenly widened as a cold fear grasped her being, making her look with a frightful expression at Natsu. "Don't tell me he found... you know... those 'outfits'."

Natsu stared at her for a good five minutes with a complete blank look on his face, and it unnerved Erza further. Breaking out in a fit of laughter, the rosy-haired grasped his face with his hand as he envisioned the scene; he would had to explain a lot if that happened, but it would've been worth it because he would always remember Erza's face if he told her what kind of excited expression the boy would probably have if he saw them.

A cheetah was, after all, one of Rob's favorite animals.

And Natsu's for that matter.

Erza's eye started to twitch in annoyance and she soon started to get indignant at being laughed at. The red-head no longer held her patience and delivered a rock-hard punch into Natsu's stomach, effectively silencing his laughs while blowing off some steam in the process. She smirked to herself as she saw the man clutching his stomach in pain.

That's what he gets for making a mockery of her.

Coughing a bit, the pinkette regained his self and smirked reassuringly. "Psh, those outfits are even better hidden than the Emperor's secret obsession with ice creams. Don't worry, Rob didn't find them."

Erza sighed in relief and patted the man's cheek lovingly. "Then what did he found?"

At this, Natsu went silent for moment. Now he had to spill the beans and it made him click his tongue. He finally sighed and started rummaging through his pocket and fished out a piece of folded paper.

"He found one of my old drawings..."

Raising a scarlet-colored eyebrow, she didn't understand why it was something that could bother Natsu. "So he found one of your drawings. So? What's so special about this one?" The red-head took the folded piece and was about to unwrap it, until she felt the pinkette's hand wrap around her own, stopping her action.

"You'll find this pretty special..."

Ignoring the underlying meaning of those words, Erza wrinkled her hand out of the man's clutch and unfolded the piece of paper before glancing at the illustration.

She gasped as she brought a hand to her mouth, shocked at seeing the familiar creature.

"This is..." Erza didn't finish her sentence as she was cut short by Natsu.

"Aye, it's the Chryatis I drew from long ago..."

An eerie silence filled the living room as the two were taking a trip through memory lane. They both relived the horrors of what they went through on that wretched planet where they discovered this... monster.

A planet that was once shrouded with mystery.

A planet that would've better been stayed as a mystery.

Though, humanity's curiosity got the better of them.

And they paid the price for it.

Dearly.

* * *

**(10 Years Ago)**

_Home World: Planet Earthland._

_Confederate Army HQ._

_Gate 1 Main Entrance._

_X565: 23rd of March: 10 years before the Civil War._

_1st Entry :_

_-Two months have passed since the Galuna Rebellion. Due to Major Erza Scarlet's, leader of the Knights' Special Forces and Sergeant Natsu Dragneel's efforts, the Confederate troops managed to defeat the Rebel Army of the Balam __Alliance. _

_After agonizing six months of being together, sabotaging enemy supplies and utilizing hit-and-run tactics on the enemy troops to weaken and demoralize them, the two were finally able to return home and the two of them returned as war heroes_

_After all the formalities and pleasantries, the two bid the other farewell and good luck with their lives, thinking that this would be last time they would encounter the other._

_Though, here, their intertwined path didn't stop._

_After three months of being permitted to be off duty, Major Scarlet was requested to report herself to General Mavis Vermillion, Head of the CA Special Forces. _

_From here, the journey of Major Scarlet and Sergeant Dragneel continued...-_

A salute.

Another salute.

A bow.

A... whistle?

Erza shook her head and tried focusing her attention back on the end of the hall of Gate Entrance 1 that lead towards the Confederate's Army HQ while ignoring the rest of the soldiers that were passing her by.

Three months, it's been three months since the Galuna Rebellion and people were still praising her as the war-heroine of Earthland. To be honest, she didn't actually mind, rather, she ignored the attention all together that was thrown her way or she would hollowly thank them for complementing her for what she did, and most of the time, the scarlet-haired didn't pay it any thoughts.

What was now important to her was the fact that the Commander-in-Chief of the CA's Special Forces wanted to see here ASAP.

Even though she was off duty.

Walking through the halls of HQ and occasionally saluting passing soldiers Erza started to grow tired of how long the corridors were as she slightly slumped her shoulders. After walking what seemed to be for hours to Erza, the scarlet-haired finally came across the giant doors that lead to the office of the General of the Special Forces. A large seal of two diagonally crossing golden swords with a white shield at the foreground signified the insignia of the Special Forces.

Noticing a small pedestal and a scanner on top of it next to the door, Erza walked towards it before rolling her sleeve up and placing her hand on the pedestal. The scanner instantly reacted to the redhead as a small web of red lines enveloped the woman's hand and started scanning.

_"_-_Initializing... Initializing Complete: Welcome Major Erza Scarlet, the General has been waiting for you. Please enter.-" _Nodding at the words before removing her hand of the pedestal Erza stood in front of the door and waited for it open. She didn't had to wait too long as the giant metal doors opened with a small creak, beckoning for the scarlet-haired Major to enter.

* * *

Standing in front of the General's desk, Erza stood in her saluting stance as she waited for her superior to address here while she heard the door close behind her. Slowly, the chair the General sat in turned around and a woman in her late twenties with curly long blonde hair and emerald green eyes wearing a gray uniform with four stars sewn on both her shoulders as well as on her right breast smiled honestly at the redhead.

"It's been awhile Erza." The blonde General finally said as she stood up, her glance still on Erza. "You've changed so much since the last time we saw each other."

Lowering her hand Erza's mask turned into a smile of her own as she looked at the General. "Time changes a person, General Mavis."

Folding her arms behind her back Mavis nodded slowly in agreement. "Time indeed changes a person." The golden-haired agreed before woman turned around as her eyes glanced outside her window.

"Erza dear, while I would love to have a good talk between friends, I'm short on time so I'll make this quick." Mavis' expression turned grim as she turned her look to the redhead. "Before I do that, I want to ask you something..."

Nodding, Erza awaited for the blonde to ask her what she wanted to ask.

"Do you believe... in Fairy Tales?"

Not expecting that question Erza slightly cocked her head back in surprise. "I don't get the question General..."

Giggling to herself Mavis looked amused at the redhead. "Of course you don't get the question, nobody does these days..."

Frowning, Erza crossed her arms before her chest in indignation. "What is that supposed to mean...?"

Shaking her head Mavis wondered for a moment before perking up as she glanced again at Erza. "Then let me ask you it differently... Do you believe in life outside our Solar System?"

Glancing towards the ground, the redhead placed her hand underneath her chin as she thought that life outside the Solar System didn't sound that far-fetched in Erza's opinion. If humans existed surely there would be something else that also had intelligent much like themselves. The universe was, after all, an ocean and the Solar System was nothing more than a small droplet in it.

"It doesn't sound impossible if you asked me..."

Smiling at the answer she received Mavis nodded to herself before opening her desk and grabbed some holographic documents. She handed them to the scarlet-haired and nodded firmly at her. "There isn't much I can tell you, The Elder Council would whine about it if I interfered directly so instead I give you these documents. Read them carefully, they're invaluable for your mission."

Accepting the documents, Erza read the cover as it read 'Confidential Records' before looking at the other ones, this one reading 'RATAC'. With a confused look the redhead looked at Mavis as she held the documents of them.

"You know that you're sending me into the dark..." Erza said at the General and the woman nodded solemnly.

"It's because I myself am blank about it too." Mavis replied with a hint of annoyance. Raising her hand and outstretching her finger Mavis glanced with a steeled eyes as she looked at her subordinate. "There is one thing I can tell. Whenever you see members of RATAC, be on your guard."

Erza nodded at Mavis before wandering inside her mind for a moment. The name RATAC was connected with a corporation that focused itself on weapon warfare developments. Founded and led by Elder Councilor Zero Cell, twin brother of Brain Cell, the corporation became quickly one of the most influential and largest companies in the Confederacy.

No real surprise seeing as it was responsible for the Confederate Army's supplies of weapons and whatnot.

With that kind of responsibility came power.

A lot of power.

Seeing that Erza got across the message the blonde took her seat again and intertwined her hands in front of her while placing her elbows on her desk as she faced Erza with a mindful expression. "Your objective is simple... Observe RATAC. If push comes to shove, I want you to report to me immediately. That corporation is being suspicious these days about their manufacture of weaponry and I as the Head of the Special Forces want to know everything that's going on here in our army. RATAC has been denying me that for a long time..."

Nodding in agreement, Erza saluted her superior. "If that is all General then with your permission I'll take my leave then." Waiting for General Mavis to dismiss her, she was rather surprised to suddenly see the blonde shake her head.

"There is one thing before you can take your leave, dear." Mavis smiled at the scarlet-haired. "To ensure both your safety and that if, and I pray not, you're killed in action and I still can receive information, I'm going to assign a partner to you..."

"A... partner?" The redhead repeated slowly and glanced at Mavis expectantly. "And who is going to be that?"

The blonde woman flashed another smile and shrugged nonchalantly. "That decision is up to you."

"Up to me? Didn't you say General that you would assign someone to me?" Erza remarked while Mavis was currently looking through the Military Archives.

"I did say that... but I didn't say I would choose said person, did I?" The woman retorted in a rather teasing tone, confusing Erza even more. Chuckling to herself, Mavis clapped her hands. "Be quick with it, you're gonna be send in less than four days."

Erza took a moment to think as she glanced towards the ground in thought. This mission she was given to was a personal send mission of the General and from what she got it was a very dangerous one meaning she had to bring someone with her that she got experience with during dangerous situations. Numerous people crossed her mind, all of them fine and outstanding soldiers who could probably stand their ground during such situations. However, one of them instantly stuck out like a sore thumb. Someone who she had to survive with for six months behind enemy lines, someone who she entrusted her live with during the entire time they were fighting off rebels on Galuna.

The image of a grinning man with spiky rose-colored hair supporting a .50cal Leo Assault Cannon on his shoulder crossed her eyes.

And a small yet affectionate smile appeared on the redhead's face as she reminded him.

Glancing towards her superior, Erza smirked confidently at Mavis as she saluted her.

"I think I've found my partner for this mission."

* * *

**...**

**What am I writing... I'm writing a NatZa fic... of all the pairings I could've chosen, I choose NatZa... Not that I had any saying in it anyway. *chuckles* I'm making it sound like I was forced to write this *laughs***

**Okay, I'm gonna be quick with this. A couple of months ago, Kuro(or Wrath, whatever you want to call him) and I had quite a long discussion about this and that. Main point of it was simple... His story '_Lost Cause: Ascender' _made me think for a moment and suddenly I started imagining entire story because one line... yes, one line made me go btoom about this story and damn, is this one good.**

**So, here I am trying my hand in NatZa... Honestly, I couldn't really care, I just want to write this awesome plotline I've created and the fact that it's NatZa is collateral...**

**I do admit, the last scene was a bit rushed yes... but I had to make it a quick briefing...*Thinks about a good excuse* Ah well, the next chapter will enlighten things more. *nods* Can't tell too much now can I?**

**Anyway, on to something else... I've read a couple of reviews and I suddenly stumbled on a funny thing... Regarding being 'God-King' of the NatZa Kingdom... come on guys, whut are you doing? This is ridiculous, the amount of reviews doesn't tell you anymore whether your story is good or not. We can hardly call most of the reviews that we receive... reviews anymore... Reviews turned from something healthy to fast food if you catch the metaphor. My brotha told me not to get into it too much so I won't, but still, your NatZa stories(or any story in particular) receiving a lot of reviews doesn't mean it's soon gonna be the most revered one in the Archive. Write NatZa because you want to write it an only because you want that, not with the ulterior motive of also being the most renowned writer of said Archive... Which will always be Kuroyagi and no one else on a side note *laughs* I'm praising the bastard... Tsk.**

**Anyway, tell me what you think of it, I'm dying for some reviews about this... A 'Nice story bro, keep up the good work' will not suffice *frowns***

**Fafnir hissing out.**

**Oh! Before I forget... I'm putting everything on hiatus... *nods* Except this one and Changed Future. *nods again***

**Ciassu!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. Hiro Mashima and only he owns it.**

**Nor do I own any names that are related to another game, anime or movie(s) and such.**

**I do own the idea of this story. Well, partly that is.**

**Credits for the original concept goes to: Tendencies' Wrath(AKA Kuroyagi)**

* * *

**Lost Cause.**

**Confidential Records 02: **_"Information"_**.**

* * *

_Home World - Planet Earthland._

_Magnolia Metropolis, Domus Flau Arena._

_Changing Rooms._

_X565 AFC: 25th of March.  
_

_2nd Entry :  
_

_- Sergeant Dragneel is currently using his free time for fighting in the famous Domus Flau of Magnolia Metropolis while Major Scarlet heads out to find the man. The files Erza received from General Mavis were remained to stay classified until both soldiers were present and away from prying eyes. Priority of the moment: Find Sergeant Natsu Dragneel.-_

Natsu sat on one of the benches inside the changing rooms, wearing only boxer's pants and bandages around his hands. The pink-haired soldier glanced to the ground while he supported his arms on his legs and expressed a pondering look on his worn-out face. This was it, the final round between him and his opponent. He was the only one standing between him and the title of Earthland's best martial artist. Natsu dreamed of one day becoming Earthland's most renowned fighter, both in the military as well as in its famous arena.

And this was his chance to prove it that he was indeed the best fighter of his own time.

The rosy-haired man stood up and walked towards the sink before opening the crane and splashed some water against his face to calm his nerves. Natsu glanced up and saw his own image through the mirror and noticed the tense look he had.

He was nervous. Of course he was nervous, he was about to fight the current Champion of the Grand Martial Arts Games for the title.

Alucard Dracul.

The man couldn't be considered human anymore. Every round he fought, it resulted in his opponent's complete and utter defeat. He left them broken and weeping while the emergency brigade carried them away towards the nearest hospital.

But Natsu didn't plan on becoming one of them. He would be the first man in five years who'd finally knock Alucard off his throne. He would claim the title 'Strongest heavyweight of Earthland' today and nobody would stop him.

~BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT~

_-Alright ladies and gentlemen! The timer has expired and our combatants are about to come back to the ring for the final round! Prepare yourselves as this is gonna be the decisive moment between Alucard and Natsu! Who will win this clash of titans? The legendary Immortal Alucard or the recently rising Salamander Natsu? We'll see in the final round of the Grand Martial Arts Games!-_

The pinkette heard the announcer's words through the telecoms and it made him breathe out a sigh of anxiety. Natsu took a look around for his towel. Finding it before grabbing the cloth and throwing it over his shoulder, Natsu walked out of the changing room through the door that lead to the arena with a steeled look on his face. This was the moment of truth, he couldn't mess up or falter now, he had to give it his all.

No, he had to give it more than everything he had in him.

The previous rounds both he and Alucard were evenly matched, but Natsu could tell the black-haired man was holding a bit back and tried to save most of his energy for the final round.

As his feet carried him through the hall, the pink-haired could faintly hear the cheers and screams of the spectators; he either heard his or Alucard's name being chanted over and over again and it brought Natsu a reassuring smile.

At least he had a couple of fans.

Along the side, the pink-haired caught a glimpse of spiky blond hair before he fully realized who was standing near the ring.

It was his coach; Laxus Dreyar.

Seeing Natsu walk out of the private changing rooms specifically made for the participating martial artists, Laxus pushed himself off the wall he was resting against and his expression was that of a serious frown. The blond man approached Natsu with his arms crossed and stared down at the shorter man.

"This is it Natsu, the final showdown between you and Alucard." Laxus began and waited for his words to reach Natsu. The blond noticed the pinkette's slow nod and smirked to himself. "Give him hell..." He ordered more than asked and climbed up the ring. Smiling confidently, Natsu slammed his fist inside the palm of his hand, feeling his anxiety being replaced by anticipation as he too climbed up the ring, his hands firmly grabbing the elastic ropes that surrounded the ring.

Noticing his stool in the far corner of the ring, Natsu sat on it and grabbed the bottle of water that was lying underneath it. Opening it, the pink-haired took a long gulp of water before dumping the water over his head. The pinkette glanced over his shoulder and saw Laxus standing behind him.

"Always keep your guard up, Alucard will exploit every small gap he'll see. Don't give him the chance to deliver his right hook, it's is best chance of knocking out his opponent. Other than this, I can't do anything for you. You're on your own now kid." Laxus instructed and he received another nod of the pinkette. The blond nodded back before leaving the ring and sat on the chair on the first row. Sending a final nod to Natsu, the blond man then looked with an impassive look at the ring in front of him.

As the pinkette's gaze was back in front him, Natsu's onyx eyes noticed his opponent sitting in the far corner opposite of him and spotted the confident smirk on his adversary's face. The man wearing black boxing pants was very well built with black hair extending to the base of his neck and long frontal bangs which were nearly shadowing his red eyes. Sitting comfortably on his stool Alucard raised his head slightly and glanced at Natsu with amused eyes. A grin started to spread across the man's face, a grin that unsettled the pinkette for some odd reason unknown to him.

"This is gonna be fun~" Alucard said loud enough for the pinkette to hear it above all the cheers and screams. Snorting, Natsu remained silent and had his eyes glued on the black-haired man.

~TING~

That was the sound that signified both fighters to start. Alucard and Natsu rose from their stools and strolled to the middle of the ring as they both saw the reverie coming to them. Both combatants soon stood in front of the other's face, one smirking in amusement and the other looking devoid of any emotion. Eyeing the two before giving a curt nod, the reverie took out his whistle and glanced at the two one last time.

"Arite, rules are simple: Don't bash the other's skull in too much, your opponent needs to survive this. Other than that... You can beat the shit out of each other for all I care.

Raising his arm as the reverie had his lips on his signal whistle, the man inwardly counted to three. In the meantime a thousands thoughts ran through the pinkette's mind as he took on a boxing stance. The most dominant was a simple one; would he win or lose this fight? Would he beat down Alucard? Or would he be beaten down by Alucard? Shaking his head, Natsu focused his attention back to the match; There was only one way of finding out.

In the blink of an eye, the reverie blew his whistle while bringing his arm down signaling that the fight had begun and it went completely silent inside the arena. The two adversaries first started to a circle each other, their mind completely trying to figure out what the other was doing. Natsu noticed Alucard was still expressing that amusing smirk on his face and it started to annoy him. Was he trying to say that he was no match for him with that look? Natsu unconsciously gritted his teeth tight at the thought. He was about to show how much of a match he was against the black-haired man.

A small exchange of jabs began between the two boxers and they both effortlessly dodged or blocked the other. Jumping on his heels Natsu grew tired of this little cat and mouse game and decided to take the initiative.

Making a dash for it Natsu reared his fist back before delivering a strong left jab at Alucard who raised his arm vertically and blocked the move. Not done yet, Natsu pivoted on his feet before he tried to deliver a strong heel kick at Alucard's right flank. Grimacing, Alucard stepped to the side and dodged Natsu's kick before delivering a kick of his own to the pinkette. With a roundhouse kick, the black-haired aimed his attack at Natsu's abdomen. Seeing no way to dodge Alucard's move, the rosy-haired lowered his arms and blocked the incoming kick. Natsu's eyes widened as he felt the power behind the kick as he was forced to stagger back.

A loud cheer erupted around the arena as all of the spectators saw that the fight had begun. With a grim look, Natsu quickly took a glance around him before his eyes fell back on his arms. The pinkette cringed as he felt the stingy sensation course through his limbs. Looking back in front of him, Natsu's widened his eyes once again before rolling to the side to avoid an incoming heel drop from Alucard. Natsu knelt on one knee before he made a mad-dash for it as he suddenly grabbed the black-haired man around the waist, surprising Alucard with the action. Natsu then quickly snaked his arms around his opponent's neck and brought it in a headlock. With a loud roar, Natsu buried his knee deep inside the raven-haired's guts, earning him a grunt of pain from the man. Another was sent to Alucard's stomach and Natsu decided to put more force in this one than the first.

The black-haired received two more knees to his guts before he got enough of it. Raising his hands, Alucard intercepted the knee that was currently being buried constantly inside his stomach. He pushed Natsu away before he grabbed both the sides of the pinkette's head. Alucard slammed his forehead into Natsu's, headbutting the man with a force that left the rosy-haired martial artist groaning in pain. Alucard sent a front kick to Natsu's chest to create some distance between him and the pinkette.

Clutching his chest, Natsu panted in exhaustion as he glared at the still smirking man who was in a slightly better condition than him. That expression was really starting to irate the rose-haired martial artist. He felt as if Alucard was just toying with him. As if he could end the fight with just the flicker of his fingers. No way he would let him have such an edge over him.

"What's the matter, Salamander? Lost being fired up?" Alucard asked mockingly as he stared down at his opponent. He raised both his arms and beckoned for the pinkette. "Come at me kiddo~"

And coming at him Natsu did.

Alucard anticipated Natsu's move and he met him head on, the two combatants running up to each other at a dangerously fast pace. The pinkette met the raven-haired in a powerful headbut, grinding his forehead against Alucard's who merely pushed back with equal force, like two battery rams crashing into each other. The entire hall let out a collective gasp, finding it shocking beyond belief how the scene unfolded itself. hey just met each other head on and not even a flinch was noticed when the two martial artists slammed their forehead against the other's. Didn't they feel any pain?

The two men then proceeded to simultaneously grasp the other's hands in a tight grip before trying once again to overpower their opponent.

"You're not half that bad, Salamander, it's been awhile since I had a fight this exciting!" Alucard grinned from ear to ear and praised Natsu while at the same time enforcing more power in his struggle. Natsu reacted instantly by adding more pressure too, not wanting to give the man an inch of ground.

"I've always considered you the final obstacle, Alucard. Fighting and actually beating you is like fighting an Immortal," The rosy-haired grinned back, appreciating the praise from his adversary. Natsu suddenly pushed back with more force, slightly surprising Alucard at the new found power his opponent showed. "But I won't lose to you, I'll bring you down!" Suddenly, Natsu stopped pushing back but rather pulled the man towards him before falling on his back and buried his foot deep in the man's guts, sending him rolling backwards before he violently tumbled towards the ground. Natsu pushed himself off the ground and looked towards Alucard's fallen form, his breathing rigid because of exhaustion.

A loud cheer erupted inside the hall once again at the impressive display of Natsu. Finding it calming, but not letting it go to his head, Natsu stood up on his legs again and stared in Alucard's direction. That move might had disoriented him, but he was completely sure it wasn't over yet.

And he was right on the spot.

Alucard slowly placed his hands on the floor and pushed himself carefully upwards. His face expressed what appeared to be a scowl, an annoyed scowl and it was directed towards the pink-haired.

"I'm getting tired of this. I'm gonna end it quickly, kiddo~" Bracing himself for whatever Alucard had in store for him, Natsu couldn't help but feel uneasy at the moment. Maybe it was the scowl that was intimidating him, maybe because he was tired or perhaps a bit of both, he didn't know. All he did know was that the match was starting to reach its end as Natsu noticed that Alucard couldn't handle much anymore much like himself.

Skipping on his heels, Alucard's form slowly reached Natsu. Raising both his arms in a defensive stance, the pinkette awaited for Alucard to make a move and he didn't have to wait long for it.

As fast as lightning, Alucard jerked back his leg before delivering a powerful and fast high kick at Natsu's left who blocked it with effort, before sending another one to his right, repeating this movement. The pinkette's arms were screaming in pain and Natsu was sure the force behind those kicks were strong enough to break bones! The rosy-haired soldier struggled under the repeated attacks of the raven-haired as he grimaced at the pressure that was enforced on him. Eventually Natsu had to lower his arms and skip backwards to avoid another series of kicks. He couldn't feel his arms any longer; the numbness completely rendering them useless for a moment.

And that's when Alucard struck.

Cocking his right fist back, Natsu's eyes widened at what he saw. Alucard's infamous right hook was precisely aimed for his face and he had no defense.

He knew exactly how this would end.

Flesh met flesh in a vicious display of Alucard's right hook buried in Natsu's face, the pinkette's head completely bend to the side before the man tumbled to the ground with a hard crash. As Natsu's head landed roughly on the ground, the pinkette's sight completely blurred from the right hook he received as well as from the hard fall he experienced. His entire world was spinning and it seemed like there was no ending of it soon. Nonetheless, Natsu tried to recollect his thought, and his stirred brains too, before he pushed himself yet again off the ground. The man's sight was still a complete blur and Natsu clutched his face with a hand before slowly shaking his head to get it out of his system.

Gaining his vision again, Natsu glanced with weary eyes at the black-haired man, grinning lopsidedly as he tried to come himself up.

"Damn, your right hook his life-threatening! If my head wasn't as hard as it is, it would've exploded~" The pinkette shouted as he laughed ridiculously and Alucard had the urge to sweatdrop at the man's sudden outburst. Perhaps he had hit him too hard and the poor guy was now suffering from hallucinations. That happened once before now that Alucard thought about and the memory made him chuckle.

Shaking his head, Alucard retook his stance and stared at Natsu's wobbly form. "Kiddo, this is the end. One more punch and you're down for the count. Are you sure you wanna go again?" The black-haired man questioned in mock concern, but it only made Natsu more enthusiastic.

Grinning, the man stuck his middle finger at Alucard and gestured with it to come closer. "I've always ran after the big fish and you are perhaps one of the biggest! I'm not gonna let this pass by if I can help it!"

Scoffing in amusement, Alucard couldn't help but find it more fun the more time this battle was dragging on. Cracking his knuckles, Alucard sent a challenging smirk to his opponent who met it with a grin.

"As you would say it,"Alucard pushed himself off his feet and dashed at breakneck speed at Natsu with his fist cocked back who ran up to his opponent with equal excitement coursing through his being as he too ran towards his adversary with a punch reared back and ready to be dealt.

"I'm all fired up motherfucker~/I'm all fired up, motherfucker~"

* * *

"Damn that black-haired bastard..." Natsu groaned and clutched an ice pack while pressing it against his cheek as he left the Domus Flau arena with a scowl on his face. It was just an hour ago that Natsu lost his match against the Immortal and the thought still stung him. After that sucker punch, the two still bashed each other's skull for minutes before Natsu started to falter his defense and became more reckless as he made dashes for it to knock out the black-haired man.

He realized it too late, but the taunting, the permanent smirk on his face, and his way of fighting was a means to exhaust and get him out of focus. After Alucard's right hook in the ninth minute, Natsu couldn't keep his thoughts together anymore as his entire sight was a blur while he collapsed onto the ground.

_"Nothing personal, Natsu, but I intend to distract my opponents during fights. Without their complete focus, they don't stand a chance against me. This is the first time you and I met in the arena so you didn't know how I worked... Remember this for the next time we see each other in the ring, kid." _Those were the words Alucard spoke to him after their match. Deep down, Natsu appreciated it even though he just huffed and looked the other way. Natsu knew that Alucard knew too that he appreciated his advise as the black-haired ruffled his hair before walking up to the stage to get the Grand Golden Belt.

With his coach walking next to him, Laxus left the arena with his eyes closed, "Well, you did your best, kid. There was nothing else you could have done." Laxus spoke as he smacked Natsu upside his head, receiving him a glare of annoyance from the pinkette. "Next time, I want that belt hanging above my room and you're gonna win the next time you're in the final rounds, got it?" The blond Captain said as he smirked amusingly towards the glare that was thrown his way.

"Lazy asshole, you go up inside that arena and fight the current champion, see if you can win!" Natsu glared to his friend and coach while he rubbed the back of his head. Shrugging, Laxus took two cigarettes out of his pocket, one for himself and the other he offered to the pinkette. Natsu stared blankly at the blond and the guy just stared back.

"What?"

"I thought you would quit smoking?" Natsu deadpanned only for him to receive another smack to his head from Laxus who had an expression as if he was offended.

"Quit smoking? You joking with me? What retard told you I would do something ridiculous as quitting with smoking?" Laxus asked incredulously as he crossed his arms. Natsu grabbed his head and shook it in order to get the dizziness out of himself; first he was beaten half to death by Alucard and now Laxus was trying to give him a concussion.

The world was full of sadistic assholes.

With a sweatdrop, Natsu pointed at the blond officer and chuckled in amusement. "You just called yourself a retard..."

Natsu soon regretted his choice of words when he saw Laxus suddenly cloaked in an intimidating layer of golden lightning, how, Natsu didn't know, and the pinkette started to sweat under the hard stare the blond man was giving him. But as soon as the suffocating aura appeared it also vanished the moment Laxus' expression turned from annoyed to surprised as he looked past the pinkette and pointed a finger at who he saw.

"Isn't that... Major Erza?"

Natsu's eyebrows rose at the question and turned around to confirm what the blond saw. Indeed, there, leaning against a civilian skycraft was a woman with bright scarlet-colored hair tide in an elegant knot wearing casual clothes seen as she was off duty.

Seeing that Laxus and Natsu noticed her, Erza pushed herself off her vehicle and waved towards the two men. Returning the gesture with a nod, both the blond and the pinkette walked in her direction.

"I see you've lost your match against the Immortal, Natsu." Erza spoke as soon as the two were close enough to her. With a sulking face, Natsu looked to the side while Laxus merely sighed remembering the match his prodigy lost before he slowly shook his head in disappointment; that trophy was destined to be his and now he had to hear from Walter that it was a thousand years too early for him to beat the legendary Immortal and his coach. Oh how he wanted to bash that old man's face in.

"Wait, how did you know I had this match against Alucard?" Natsu looked up and questioned the scarlet-haired with a surprised undertone in his voice. Shrugging, the redhead grabbed her phone and showed it to the rosy-haired man.

"Your MyImage profile said you had a big match against the strongest martial artist of Earthland in Magnolia's Domus Flau Arena, so." Erza said as a matter of fact and she received a hum in response before the man sported a confused look. Natsu glanced at Erza who rose her eyebrows at the look she received.

"You have... MyImage?" The pinkette spoke up in surprise only for him to receive an annoyed glare from the woman.

"I'm social too you know." Nodding with an unconvinced look Natsu held back the urge to snort in disbelief knowing what the woman would do to him if he did. Folding their arms, Laxus decided to speak up.

"Is there something you're here for, Erza?"

Nodding, the woman turned serious, "By orders of General Mavis, I'm here to fetch Sergeant Dragneel. He's assigned for a special mission that I can't speak about right now." The woman spoke up, receiving surprised looks from both men before they frowned at Erza.

"These are unusual procedures, I'm not even notified about this. Hell, I didn't even had a briefing, what's this all of sudden." Natsu said indignantly and shot the woman a look. He was off duty for God's sake, wasn't he allowed to have some rest too?

Sighing, the redhead agreed on a certain level with the man, "Yes, it's sudden, I know, but these are orders from higher ups. As for the briefing, you'll get it on your way towards Planet Hokabe. There isn't much to tell, General Mavis said that without you, I wasn't allowed to open the files she gave me."

Natsu looked up in slight surprise, "So... you're blank about this too?" The pinkette asked only for him to receive a simple nod from the woman. Natsu furrowed his eyebrows at that before letting out a final sigh in defeat. "Well, whatever, guess there is nothing I can do about it anyway." The man spoke and looked at his friend, "I think I need to head off, eheh." Natsu scratched the back of his head in unease.

Laxus merely shrugged at the man, "After we were done here, I was about to go to Crocus anyway. I was trying to come up with a good excuse of ditching you somewhere. Guess this turned out great." Tsking while glaring in annoyance, Natsu scoffed at the blond who merely snorted back in amusement.

"You're a first class asshole, aren't you?"

Shrugging again Laxus left the two, giving a wave behind his shoulder while walking away towards his vehicle. Natsu glared in annoyance at the back his friend before sighing and turned his attention back to the scarlet-haired woman.

"Well, let's get this over with, I'm beat." Nodding, Erza took the lead and grabbed her keys of her skycraft. Opening the vehicle, the two stepped inside, Natsu taking the seat next to the driver while the redhead took the driver's seat. Buckling their belts, Natsu threw a questioning look at Erza who merely rose her eyebrows at the look she received.

"Where are we going again?" The man asked, leaning backwards inside his seat enjoying the feeling of finally giving his legs some well deserved rest.

"We're heading towards Magnolia's Military Spaceport and from there, to Planet Hokabe." The woman informed and turned on the vehicle which gave a loud growl in response, enabling the Auto-Pilot and coordinating its destination before letting the machine do its work as it started to take off.

"Hokabe? Never heard of it." Natsu stated plainly and he gained a nonchalant shrug from the red-haired.

"It's a recently discovered planet, so it's not really surprising." The redhead then turned her face towards Natsu and smiled earnestly. "It's been awhile seen we've seen each other, I'm wondering how you've fared until now."

Supporting his head with his fist while his elbow rested on the skycraft's armrest, Natsu gave an impassive glance towards his fellow soldier before shrugging, "Nothing interesting happened to be honest aside from my match against Alucard. While I was off duty, I alongside Lyon and Laxus have been doing nothing but drinking our time away." The pinkette said and waited for the redhead to answer. His look was met with a disapproving frown from the woman, making him rise an eyebrow at the odd stare.

"What?" The pinkette simply mouthed and it only made Erza's frown deepen.

"...Are you stupid or something? Couldn't you do something better than that?" The woman lectured, her voice thick of disapproval. Natsu glanced annoyed at Erza, not liking the fact that she's lecturing him like that.

"What's it to you? It's not like you're suffering under it, are you?" Natsu retorted back, glancing expectantly at the major while waiting for her to answer.

Sighing again, Erza decided to drop the matter before it escalated into an argument between the two. "You sure are in a sour mood..."

Looking up in surprise, a dry chuckle then escaped the man's throat before looked apologetically at Erza. "Guess my loss against that ass affected me more than I can care about. Sorry for acting like that."

Letting out a chuckle as well, Erza dismissed it and nodded at the pinkette. "It's alright, who wouldn't be if he got his ass kicked like that." Erza's chuckle turned into a warm laugh when she noticed the angry pout on Natsu's face. "Sorry~" When her laughter died down, her face turned serious when she once again faced the pink-haired with a steeled look. "Joking aside, now we're able to read those documents General Vermilion gave me for this mission." Raising a pink eyebrow in question Natsu was about to ask what documents but was cut off short when the aforementioned woman took out something before bringing it in front of them. Opening the holo-files, the object demanded finger scans of both the two who were allowed to read this information.

On turns, Erza and Natsu placed a finger on the scanner for it to read. The file read their fingerprints and five seconds later, the files opened as numerous pictures popped up and the last one showed the emblem of the weapon manufacturer of the Confederacy RATAC.

_-Birth of Raven Tail Constructions.(**Ra**ven **Ta**il **C**onstructions-  
_

_-Raven Tail Constructions, an organization founded 5 years ago by Elder Councilor Zero Cell. Originally an institution under the supervise of the Government, during the Earthland Economic Crisis, the Elder Council was forced to allow private companies and individuals to buy state properties. Zero Cell decided to purchase the Sven Governmental Weapon Construction Industries and renamed it Raven Tail Constructions.-_

_-As years passed by and the Confederacy's capital managed to get itself out of the economic crisis, Raven Tail Constructions became one of the wealthiest private companies of its time and it still is. Elder Councilor Cell invested much of his private fortune in it in order to sustain it. Now he's receiving profit over the amount he invested. Raven Tail Constructions is manufacturing more than 35% of the total weapon production making it one of the most important and leading companies in both the economy as well as the military. If you'd like to listen to this voice audio again, please click the replay button.-  
_

Not knowing what else to do, Erza swapped the voice audio and browsed through the files only to stumble on something else interesting.

_-Elder Councilor Zero Cell-_

_-Born in Oracion City, Zero Cell is probably one of the most renowned people of this time. At the age of 25, Zero Cell finished his Imperial Philosophy education at Paradise Metropolis University and started as a politician. Always known for his leader qualities, Zero quickly ascended the stairs of society and eventually ended up in the Elder Council. Being the twin brother of Brain Cell, the famous weapon technologist that developed most of the CA's Armory, Zero decided to create a name for himself too.-  
_

_-After 7 years of hard work, Zero eventually reached the top of Earthland as the Confederacy's 'Uncle Army', the most important supplier of the CA's weapons and equipment. If you'd like to listen to this voice audio again, please click the replay button.-  
_

It took ten minutes for both video audios to end and by the end of it, Erza nor Natsu had become the wiser of it. They both exchanged glances, both trying to find an answer in the other but they found none.

"What was the point of this again?" Natsu spoke up both his and Erza's current train of thought. The red-haired glanced to her fellow soldier with an equally blank look.

"I don't know either..." The scarlet-haired answered back." Well, we'll figure this out when we've landed on Planet Hokabe." The woman concluded as there wasn't anything they could do now. All answer were in Planet Hokabe she deduced. With a nod, the scarlet-haired woman increased her vehicle's speed wanting to arrive at the spaceport as soon as possible to get to her mission's destination.

* * *

_Two days later..._

_Planet Hokabe._

_Settlement 1 Spaceport._

_X565 AFC: 27th of March._

Stepping out of the military carrier, Major Scarlet and Sergeant Dragneel were met with the chilling winds of the frozen wastelands of Planet Hokabe. The two were wearing thick coats and clothes to protect themselves from the cold, but it failed to do its work as both the redhead as well as the pinkette could feel the cold in their bones.

Natsu rubbed his hands together and occasionally breathed into the palms of his hands to heat them up. He already hated the place and he got here recently. Cold places were the pinkette's least favorite places and he abundantly showed his discontent with the scowl on his face.

"Fuck this cold! I'm freezing to death here!" The rosy-haired shouted in anger and gripped his arms before rubbing them to ease the numbness he was feeling. With a glare on her face, Erza kicked the pinkette on the shin receiving a shout of pain from her partner before it was followed by a fit of curses from Natsu who continuously rubbed his shin while glaring holes at Erza's skull who met the stare with one of her own.

"Mind your language, idiot." Looking in front of her again, Erza saw the large dome that protected the settlement from freezing solid. Probably 10 kilometers in diameter, the place was large enough to house a population of 50.000 people. The place was recently discovered and yet they already had built a place this large. It was impressive.

Noticing that their transport towards the small city was arriving, Erza nudged Natsu before pointing towards their transportation.

"Prepare yourself, that's our ride inside." The woman simply said as she strolled forward with Natsu right behind her. The two came to halt when the vehicle stopped not too far from them and the doors opened revealing a man as thick clothed as them approaching.

The man saluted the two. "The name's Johnson and I'm here to bring you to Settlement 1. Before I do that, may I have your military IDs?" The man known as Johnson requested them and they both took out their IDs as an answer before giving them to the soldier.

Nodding to himself curtly before facing upwards, Johnson nodded again and stepped aside. "Welcome to Planet Hokabe, Major Scarlet and Sergeant Dragneel. The place may be cold, but I can smell the fortune and opportunities here." Raising both their eyebrows at the odd statement, Natsu merely chuckled while Erza just nodded hollowly and proceeded to step inside and Natsu soon followed suit.

And so, the two arrived at their destination.

They expected to return it a couple of days seeing as the mission wasn't really an important one.

Just keeping an eye out for suspicious behavior.

Though, the two didn't know yet what exactly 'suspicious' behavior meant here.

Not yet anyway.

* * *

**Yesh~ Done with it~**

**God, I think I wrote... 3k of this(more than half apparently) in just one day. I think I'm really bipolar when it comes to writing.**

**Well... There isn't much to tell now is there? *shrugs***

**Oh well.**

**Don't forget to review! (As a lot of you tend to. *frown*)**

**Fafnir.**


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